Jenna Fischer on 90-Calorie Brownies and Saying Goodbye to The Office

We all like to imagine that Pam Halpert (nee Beesly) is our water-cooler gossip buddy at The Office. Turns out, the actress behind everyone's favorite secretary is
just as awesome. On the heels of the announcement that The
Office was closing its doors, SELF caught up with Jenna Fischer to
dish on life as a mom, her signature dessert and of course, television's
favorite couple, PB&J.

A lot has changed since you appeared on our cover last. You
got married, you had a gorgeous little boy. How have the last few years
influenced your outlook?

You know, it’s funny. I know it sounds cliche, but having a kid
completely changed my whole outlook on the world and on other people. I
feel like I have so much more compassion now and I feel so much more
connected to other human beings. My family is my
priority; it trumps everything else. I find it so exciting that the
needs of others are ahead of mine, and it’s just a different place to
come from. I find it very centering.

When we did your cover story, we gave you some fun challenges, like make a crock-pot meal, reconnect with an old friend, don’t use your
BlackBerry. Have you challenged yourself to do anything similar
recently?

I did! I gave up reading all tabloid websites and tabloid news. I challenged
myself to give it up for one week and I ended up liking how it felt so
much that I gave it up for two weeks. Now, it’s been almost a month. I
didn’t realize how often I was going to those websites just out of
boredom or habit. I gave up reading tabloids the week that Jennifer
Aniston got engaged, so I didn’t know. I was so tempted to go read
about it, but I didn’t! All I know is that it happened.

Do you avoid your Twitter feed, too?

I don’t avoid my Twitter feed. In fact, I follow Alyssa Milano on
Twitter and she posts some of the best articles! She is a great follow.
I have to say, she helped to get me through this little period of
time. You know who else does? Elizabeth Banks. They post
really interesting articles and little facts, so that helped.

Season nine is going to
be the final season of The Office. Do you feel like you’re ready
for that period in your life to end?

I never want it to end, ever! I could do it for 30 years. I just love
the people that I work with so much. The last nine years of my life have
had so much stability that I didn’t have before. We decided to wrap it
up now because we wanted to do it while we still have mostly everyone.
We didn’t want to have everyone slowly leave throughout the years. We
wanted to go out with a bang. So everyone signed on for this last season
and we’re going to be able to do that.

Can you give us any little hints?

You know, they swore us to secrecy. I will say, they have charted out
a plot line for every single character so that each person has an ending to their story. There are things in there that are surprises.
It’s not going to be predictable endings.

Speaking of storylines, Pam and Jim have become one of the
most iconic television couples of all time. How has it been playing that
relationship throughout the years?

John and I will always have a very special bond because we have
played an on-screen couple for so many years. I don’t know if I’ll
ever be closer to a co-star than I am with him in terms of that bond of
having acted together so intimately for so long and sharing a story like
theirs. I know that it will be the most unique acting partner
experiences that’ll I’ll have with someone.

Do you have a favorite food to treat yourself
with?

I used to make homemade 90-calorie brownies and I would bring them to
parties … they were a big hit with all my girlfriends. Obviously, after
having a baby, I do not have time to pull off this homemade 90-calorie
brownie. So, imagine my surprise when I’m in the grocery store and I
come across the Fiber One 90-calorie brownie. I loved them so much that
I teamed up with them. Now I can bring my 90-calorie brownie to every
woman!

So now you get your little chocolatey fix and don’t feel
guilty.

We actually serve them on-set at The Office now. They have a
little basket on the food table because every afternoon they bring out
boxes of donuts, cookies and pies. It’s tempting, but now they have my
little basket of brownies, which is awesome.

What’s your favorite way to eat them?

What’s great about the Fiber One brownies is that you can build on them
and put them in the microwave and put frozen yogurt on top and it’s still under
150 calories. Last night, I crumbled the chocolate cookie one into some
frozen yogurt and mixed it up kind of like a brownie sundae. I need a
real dessert. I don’t understand women who are satisfied with a bowl of strawberries
for dessert. I don’t understand it.